>>215394
It's more of a "hollow him out, devour the creamy filling, and have our soul wear his mind and body as a mask" thing. Which is, y'know. Kind of creepy, but probably better than eating him (we'd get less out of it), killing him (he'd probably come back as a ghost and mess with us), or letting him go (to plague us later).

Anyway, now is not the time for doubts regarding morality! We need conviction in our mind to display conviction in our actions, after all.

>>215394
If it were forced on an innocent person, it would be objectionable, but that's just the sort of thing he'd do if left to his own devices. It's more merciful and effective than a lot of other options for keeping him under control.

>>215396
As far as the coming back as a ghost to torment us goes, is that a problem? We've been eating ghosts like they were delicious candy, so far. He might put up more of a fight than the others, but by the time he finds us again, we would be stronger, too.

But go ahead with your soul-gimp plan. I'm apparently a minority opinion, so I'll bow out gracefully and not object.

Man, we are turning into the baddest monster ever.

>>215353
She can? Oh, that then, instead of >>215333 .

we should start by scaring him, or giving a false impression of us. first and foremost, he has a jewel in his bowtie, remove it from him.

ask what he is and what saulanna is. do not mention wordblood.

what are his goals and why should we let him live, or even better, why should we not try to eat his soul for everything he has done to us, that we cant remember and that he just did.

then finaly say "i dont belive in you". wait for a few comments and strike to not kill.

rinse and repeat until you are satisfied with the answer.

Do you really want to become like Peregrin here, or worse? Think about it. What's proposed is Peregrin's desire, in reverse. Peregrin seemed to want to use or control us. To "learn" from us as he put it. Now most suggestions are for using him, controlling him, to best subsume his skills and knowledge. Om nom nom.

Heck, and we haven't even figured out his full motives yet! Oh sure, he's an abyssal, and he's got no regard for the people under his command, a sneaky bastard and likely jaded as all heck. This makes him a bad boy and dangerous, but we're not being much better right now, are we? Where's the difference between him and us? "He started it?"

So hey, snap to! From what I understand, Peregrin's Exaltation used to be Solar, until something wickedbad (i.e. the dead titans) captured and twisted it. With the right abilities, Wordblood could change it back, couldn't he? And Solars were allies to the Lunars, no? Something to think about. An alternative, certainly.

So..What to do? I say cut off his brooch. If it is the MANSE'S HEARTSTONE he could use it to recharge his macjiks. Knock away his staff too, some power might be invested in it. Thus defused, get him to tell you his story. No omissions, no lies... Who is he really? Why did he set up here? Who were you? How did you end up with a titanic fragment inside? Why the interest in the Titans? You could claim you've just spent some juice on an ability that can tell if he's lying or going to try something, boost your Dickery to make it convincing, and use your high ACUITY to back it up if he contradicts himself on something, based on what he's already said. We're good at detecting lies as-is, fortunately.

Alternatively, you could make and use Power Word: Confess[/Truth/Reveal] on him.

>>215512
why should he? he has no reason to tell us anything, and we would need to use confess with each question draining our power entirely for just a few answers. besides that, if we leave him alive then he will just try again later with more back up.

I was gonna say eat him or something, but I prefer the while slave thing.

guys. mothing we do to his soul will be good. im sure he would kill himself before even accepting whatever we do to his soul.

we need to make him baw about his life story. we need to know wtf is going on and we dont really have the option of eating him.

however if we dont act fast he will have his motes back due to the hearthstone and loldeathlands. killing him is a almost ok option, getting even lies from him before killing him could be better.

>>215512
It's very presumptuous to say this is "like him". The first thing we tried was talking to him in hopes of avoiding a confrontation or even working with him. This is our last resort, and we're only doing this because force was the first thing he tried.

He is powerful, and he abuses that power to exploit completely innocent people. We shouldn't assume this is because he has a corrupted Hero's Soul, or that an uncorrupted one would make him any more noble. We can't simply leave him to his work; something has to be done about him. If it were feasible, we might imprison him and slowly teach him exactly what is wrong with him, but we don't have any means of keeping him from escaping, or simply faking a change of heart until he has a chance to recapture us. If we do this, we can make certain he uses his powers to the right goals, and we won't have to kill him to do it. That is the difference between us.

For now, yes, it's best to ask questions about him and about ourself. Then we can learn if he's truly as hopeless as he seems, or if there's something to him we can use to ease him onto the path of righteousness. And if not, we can make the offer without threatening him; then it'll really be his choice.

>>215618
i really shouldnt say this but there are means to make him a solar. of course we have absolutely no means to do that, let alone trust on him that we wont be simply piled up in ghouls or something we cant eat.

i wonder what wordblood has to say about his exaltation. i know its a tad early to spit out clean, uncursed exalts, but with enought TW, any plot hole device can be made!

Saulanna Rockblossom 2010/08/04(Wed)18:19 No. 215665 ID: 2797ee
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Saulanna flicks his staff out of his hands. She is so, so tempted to just get this over with and make her demands; taking his soul and making him her slave sounds appealing. But it may be a good idea to get answers first, just in case something goes wrong.

>"..."

>>215370

>"What am I?"
"How to put this... Aside from being one of the Moon's Chosen, which I had nothing to do with, you're supposed to be the beginning of a new Titan. A seed of one, if you will, or an infant."

>"Not quite an infant, even, but correct in principle.

>"Who am I?"
"You were a "treasure hunter", as far as I understand. Part archeologist, but mostly thief. No offense."

>"Where and when did you find me?"
"About seven months ago. You were in my home, trying to purloin some of my more interesting possessions."

>"How long have you kept me prisoner?"
"Since then."

>"In what ways have you been experimenting on me? What did you find out?"
"You're... going to be upset with me."

"The Titan fragment I found, you see, needed a living soul, but a... pure one. If you understand. I had to, ah, clean yours before it could accept the graft.

>"Was I a virgin when you captured me?"
"... I wouldn't know. Beyond basic health, your physical state wasn't a factor in what I was doing."

>"Who else have you been experimenting on? What state are they in now?"
"I did try the cleaning process on a few others before you, to be certain of it. It worked, if a little less completely than on you at first. I left them in the care of my vassals."

Saulanna Rockblossom 2010/08/04(Wed)18:19 No. 215666 ID: 2797ee
File 128097119812.png - (42.83KB , 600x600 , qna1.png )

>"What's your story? How did you get your powers?"
"... I was a stage magician. Conjuring, sleight of hand. I wanted to learn real magic. I studied Rituals, and had my try at Sorcery and Necromancy. I won't bore you with the details, but a demon took umbrage with my questions one day, and almost killed me. Instead, the Hero's Soul came to me, and I was returned to life, and given the power I wanted."

>"How long have you been ruling this area?"
"A half-dozen years, maybe a bit more. I was fortunate to find this land. There's not really anywhere else I can go."

>"Who are your enemies?"
"Well. Let's see. I am a renegade Death Hero, refugee from the dominion of the Dragon's Shadow and anathema to the world of the living. So... everyone, I'd say, aside my spectral plebeians."

>"Who are your allies?"
"... I suppose that other rogue Death Heroes would not look unfavourably upon me."

>"Who do you work for?"
"Myself."

>"Of all the people you killed, who do you regret the most?"
"... A librarian. She got suspicious of me when I searched for certain volumes, and found out what I was. She would have set the Illuminated on me. She was young, and intelligent. Where are you going with this?"

Saulanna Rockblossom 2010/08/04(Wed)18:21 No. 215667 ID: 2797ee
File 128097126747.png - (43.15KB , 600x600 , qna2.png )

>>215382

>"Why aren't you getting what you want?"
"I underestimated you."

>"Because you didn't think to cooperate. [...] It's sad, but you're simply too dishonest to work with."

"Oh, well, let me think. What would I have done in your position? I'm running from something but I don't know what. I learn I was a prisoner, and that my former imprisoner is pursuing me. I have devoured one of his valuable servants. The land he appears to rule is one of darkness and the undead. Oh how am I going to react to him? Certainly with trust and cooperation."

"I knew it was you, but I pretended not to; you could choose to "reveal" yourself at your pleasure, and so feel more in charge of the situation. When it became apparent you wanted to leave, I had to subdue you. For your own good. Eating souls may not be such a big transaction to you, and it's a better fate than some I could think of; but people out in the world won't think of it that way. You're still too young, too small and weak to protect yourself. I want to help you. All I want in return is to learn your magic."

He doesn't seem as chastised as Saulanna was hoping. Should she still deliver her ultimatum?

>"I have an opinion to offer, my lady, if you desire it."

wordblood's opinion matters, let's see what he has to say.

"just so you know i had you filed under 'little suspicious, but an okay guy' until you tried to pull the flower thing on me."

>>215668

No no, let him think we're as suspecious as he. Better he overestimate facets of us then otherwise.

Also:

"Oh? By all means, Wordblood, what do you have in mind?"

>>215667
Let's hear what Wordblood has to say.

>>taking his soul and making him her slave sounds appealing.
You want it. Wordblood wants it. Do it. You'll be glad you did.

Let Wordblood talk. Then you can work on the slavery.

>>215667
Let's hear your words...
If only there were some sort of compact that would harm him if he betrayed. Destroying souls is a bit... Well, not the appropiate punishment.
A talented set of hands is more useful than one powerful set of hands. One eventually falls to the many...

Saulanna Rockblossom 2010/08/04(Wed)20:31 No. 215695 ID: 2797ee
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>"You face a wonderful opportunity, but not one that is without potential consequence. If you can persuade this man to give you his soul, you will have a valuable and utterly loyal servant; aside that, however, what is his will become yours. You will have access to all of his power. His magic."

>"On the other hand, there may be a certain degree of... seepage. Do not doubt that he will be utterly subservient, but his personality, his desires... I will not be able to surgically remove and abstract them from you, as I can with those who are devoured. You are not a whole Titan, into whom a single soul will vanish. He will be separate, and that will be some protection, but also a part of you, as I am; and I think we have already begun to blur a little, my lady. I do not recall telling you that this willing absorption was possible, and yet you knew."

>"I will tell you this, however. It is part of my nature to know and to learn the True Names for things; if he acquiesces, I can extract his from him. Knowing one's own True Name is an advantage, in many ways; your soul is strengthened, your magic made more potent, your will harder to subvert. But it also offers a weakness, and this you can exploit. Knowing his True Name, you will be able to use your magic on him wherever he goes; and if he is made to swear an oath on his True Name, he is compelled to obey."

>"If you choose that path, however, you will not gain the tremendous advantage of his power for your own; and if you are not careful with the wording of the oath you make him give, he may think of a way around it."

>"Choose wisely, and be wary; he may yet have some trick he will choose to gamble on, if you press him too hard in the wrong direction.

>>215695
It's already getting crowded inside that head. Personally I vote True Name oath. Do we have time really think about a no-loophole oath though?

>>215695
True Oath seems safer, we do not want to risk him tainting our power and drive with his own.

>>215695
I say we convince him to become our willing servant. After all, he would be much better off as OUR servant than that the unwilling pawn of a Deathlord. As a part of us, he will be free of his fate as a death hero. He should only need fear being bound against his will if he chooses to betray us.

>>215695
True name oath, I think. That bleedback sounds kind of nasty.

He should swear:
-First, never to do us harm of any kind
-Second, never act to our detriment
-Third, keep our secrets always
-Fourth, be honest and open with us always
-Fifth, aid us should we request it

I think that covers everything, without turning him into a total mind slave. It leaves him with basically no obligations should we just wander off right now, but ensures that we should be able to trust him should we choose to remain in his company. Do you guys think I missed anything?

>>215695
Taking his soul sounds great because of the obedience, but his power is nothing we should want a part of. If it were possible I'd rather take his soul and rip his dark magics from him, damn the loss of power.

The True Name oath is a nobler path, but although we are safe from corruption there is the danger of him subverting it. If we had more power and knowledge this would be a safer option, as it is now the "using your magic on him" boon largely goes to waste except to Stop him if he runs or turns on us.

...I'm still for killing and eating him, to be honest. But between the two I say let's take the True Name option. But we do it carefully.

Also, can we take his soul without binding it to us? Just keep it sealed away as a kind of insurance? That gives us a leverage he can't weasel out of, and if we have to take it into us later we'll probably be stronger and less prone to it's corruption. Best of both worlds, I think.

We should have saved that final blow for when he already seemed to be unsure of himself. But I think we can play off this.

"So you were just trying to help and protect me, and only lied about your intentions to spare my feelings. I am not convinced. If you had intended to keep a poor, naive, helpless little girl safe from the big, bad monsters she doesn't know about, a warning would have worked better than drugs and beatings. You could at least have tried it first. I'd have taken it as a show of good faith - a statement that I didn't have to hide from you, because you already knew and weren't going to try anything sinister because of it - like, say, beating me unconscious and dragging me back in chains."

"But that was all for my own good, wasn't it? Because I just couldn't survive on my own? I'm not as stupid as you claim. I know full well to be cautious about revealing my true nature - which, by the way, is why I didn't tell you. I don't doubt that there are dangerous monsters in this world who could do horrible things to me that I couldn't even imagine, and from the looks of things, my chances of survival seem much higher if I go alone than if I let you put me back in... What did you call it? 'Controlled conditions', I think."

"You certainly know how to make a tempting offer, and if only you knew when, you might have had me. But after what else you did, it would take something truly extraordinary to get me to trust you."

Whatever that "something extraordinary" is, he should be easier to convince if we start with that.

>>215723
>-First, never to do us harm of any kind
>-Second, never act to our detriment
These leave out harm by negligence, inaction or omission. He could conveniently forget to mention a trap he finds, and do us harm that way. "Honest and open" is pretty weak wording as well.

>>215727
I was trying to avoid too strong a wording, which might compel him to spend all his time ceaselessly striving to make us safe in all ways or otherwise basically hijack his life with the compulsion to constantly serve. Your point is well made, however; if you've got a better wording I'd likely support it over mine.

>>215723
I'd do it more like this:

>-First, never to do us harm of any kind
That would be "Do not harm or imprison any part of us in any way, against our will." Which is important if we need surgery or something like that. It also covers things like mind-rape, which we know he's capable of.

Actually, I'll make that a separate one just to be safe: "Do not to magically alter our mind against our will."

>-Third, keep our secrets always
"Always" is a risky way of putting it. I'd say "Do not reveal any secret we wish to keep." That is much less likely to result in him killing and brainwashing innocent people (and even us) who overhear the wrong things. He's already done this at least once.

>-Fourth, be honest and open with us always
That could conflict with keeping our secrets if we talk with him in front of other people. Perhaps "Do not attempt to deceive us, lie to us, or hide information from us." would be more workable.

One more: "If you think of some way of hurting or acting against us while keeping to the letter of our agreements, don't". That should cover anything we've missed.

Learn the true name of his soul and his other facets as well. AFTER that convince him to become your servant.

Saulanna: Just eating his soul would be easiest.
Luna gave you a command, and that command was to kick ass in her name.
There is no ass-kicking more ultimate than eating someone's soul and gaining all their abilities and whatever relevant information they held.

Plus the guy's a douche, I mean, really.

>>215695
Wordblood, can we spend TW to swap his soul for Gevin? Specifically, so that Gevin gets the body and exaltation?

>>215695
Solicit the oath. We can always eat him later if we need to, but he would generally have greater potential usefulness as a free agent.

How about we lay out all his options, and see what he thinks about them?

I'm tempted to just work with him. He doesn't seem to actually be EVIL. Just a bit of a dick. Power hungry and selfish. However, we should find out his True Name to ensure we have power over him.

Hehehehe. Saulanna was an adventurer! Of the sneaky-clever treasure-coveting kind too. Guess her exaltation was spot on.

Hmm. So Peregrin just did what he thought would be right, for himself to gain the upper hand, in his situation. He claims to be a rogue Death Hero (from the dominion of the Dragon's Shadow), and doesn't have much of a power base beyond this SHADOWY LAND. That's interesting.

His story about regretting killing the librarian shows some humanity, and personality. Apparently he likes intelligent people (note how he called his ghostly minions plebeians, a derogatory term along the lines of 'of average intellect').

"...You -appear- to be truthful, and you say you want to help me, but understand that I can't trust you as things are. I could end you, eat your soul... however, you'll be glad to hear that an alternative comes to mind.

Have you heard of True Names? Let me find yours, and you shall swear on it not to deceive me, by intent, omission or proxy, and to not betray, endanger or harm me, or anyone under my protection. It's a better offer than any other thing I am of a mind to do, and likely far better than you deserve... so if you really want to help me, here's your chance to prove it."

[spoilers]reminds me of Eragon[/spoilers]

>"... I was a stage magician. Conjuring, sleight of hand. I wanted to learn real magic. I studied Rituals, and had my try at Sorcery and Necromancy. I won't bore you with the details, but a demon took umbrage with my questions one day, and almost killed me. Instead, the Hero's Soul came to me, and I was returned to life, and given the power I wanted."

this seems like a ruse. it could be true if he were a solar, but then again, there are 2 suns in the sky.

>"You face a wonderful opportunity, but not one that is without potential consequence. If you can persuade this man to give you his soul, you will have a valuable and utterly loyal servant; aside that, however, what is his will become yours. You will have access to all of his power. His magic."

id say no, even tho i wanted saulanna to ALSO learn of all types of magic. also irreversible soul damage sounds bad.

its still possible they are destined soulmates.

>"I will tell you this, however. It is part of my nature to know and to learn the True Names for things; if he acquiesces, I can extract his from him. Knowing one's own True Name is an advantage, in many ways; your soul is strengthened, your magic made more potent, your will harder to subvert. But it also offers a weakness, and this you can exploit. Knowing his True Name, you will be able to use your magic on him wherever he goes; and if he is made to swear an oath on his True Name, he is compelled to obey."

i liek this. considering he STILL have morals, we can do this somewhat easy.

however we should warn him that to make a power word we need souls anyway.

also, gevin and unnamed ghost extra, what are your opiniuns on this?

>>215774
>unnamed ghost extra
You mean the one we ate?

>>215775
the one that almost backstabbed us is very eaten, but we managed to capture one that was holding a sword and shield.

i dont think we ate that one. yet.

>>215776
Lets eat him, and give his ghost sword/shield to Gevin. He could make use of them.

>>215777
what? no, this isnt fucking pacman or something like it.

the guy was already scared to "re-death" and gevin knows shit of sword/shield fighting. lets just harass him a bit and see if we can make him either a loyal servant (without mangling his soul) or if we can command him from peregrin.

oooh i got one, ask peregrin if he was trolling with the trick cards.

(Okay, I changed my mind)

He's too valuable and too dangerous. He's a devious, highly intelligent opponent who with decades of experience, who will weasel out of any oath you try to bind him to, unless it is so mild as to provide no actual benefit. You're in a bind. You can't afford to be so generous.

Proceed with the soul-hollowing plan. Any bleedover is likely to be mild, and if it goes against good sense, your RIDICULOUS SAVVY will help. Even then, the connection will be less than the one you have with Wordblood, yet you're still firmly in control. Peregrin will remain separate, mostly. It'll be an influence, but not a hostile one, since he'll become utterly subservient. You'll also gain the full benefit of his power and his expertise, which would be incredibly, incredibly valuable right now. You don't really know anything about your surroundings, and don't have enough information to even decide what to do next.
Tell him he's right. You don't have the means to protect yourself or construct an agenda, but that the solution is at the tip of your sword.

Give him a brief speech along the lines presented here: >>215353

What you have to lose is mild compared to what you have to gain.

>>215822
I support this.

>>215824

I don't. Frankly, I don't see why he's all -that- dangerous any longer. Sure, he's a clever, sneaky wicked foo' and all that, but if he's telling the truth, he has no support base, bar the ghosts who ran off screaming. No-one he could go to beyond himself, or other renegade Death Hero cliques. Which means he's beat and in front of us ON HIS OWN.

Frankly, intelligent as he seems to be, he may have realized he is at the stage where further lies fail and the truth will hurt less. We have titanic powers he didn't think we have, showing him he wasn't the only one with aces up his sleeve, and he knows he's screwed anyway. I also trust in Saulanna's high Acuity to give us at least the barest of hints if he's still trying to deceive us.

Furthermore, if the True Name thing works out, we can verify any parts of his story simply by clever follow-up questioning, AND eliminate him as a threat, if not altogether as a manipulator. But considering the level of dedication he's gone to to 'seed' Saulanna with Wordblood simply in order to learn TITANIC MAJICKS himself, I believe he would be interested in putting himself in ANY position where he can work with us/help us and earn that knowledge. Not that we SHOULD give anything to him without serious consideration on our part, and genuine shows of faith on his part.

The important thing is that whatever happens, happens on our terms and that Saulanna gets the freedom of movement she needs to be a Lunar and a titanic babe.

On that note, Saulanna should add "restrict me" to things he's not allowed to do, in the True Name swearing process. Letting us go can 'endanger' us, so he could justify himself that way and try to kidnap us/chain us up again.

And hey, if he refuses the True Name deal, that should be some indication as to whether or not he's lying through his teeth at us.

>>215777

I advice against eating the last ghost dude if we don't HAVE to, and we don't now. If this encounter ends in something positive, we might as well just release him.

Um... Gevin, what do you think of all this? We're still definitely going to look for Ruive, and this fellow might be able to help, or at least know of ghosts around here who could share knowledge with us.

>>215822
I agree that his influence over us should be manageable. Most of his character traits - caution, curiosity, and such - aren't too objectionable. He kills and brainwashes people when it suits his purposes, but that doesn't seem to be out of malice as much as a shortage of empathy; Wordblood is the same way, and we've had no trouble managing his suggestions.

Still, it's risky to make such an offer without knowing his personality very well. This might work:

"There are two ways you can make us trust you."

"First, you could swear an oath on your True Name. That would ensure that you would do me no harm, and allow me to converse with you safely. Then, you could teach me about the world, as you have promised, and I could teach you what I know about my magic, until it came time for me to leave."

"But... there is another option. One that would serve both of our purposes quite well. Make your soul a part of ourself."

"You wouldn't just be emulating a new Titan. You'd be a part of one. I could share all of my magic with you, even the parts I could never teach you. And as I explore the world, learn and grow, I can share it all with you."

(If he seems to be considering it, but unsure...)

"What do you plan to do, then? There are things you can't learn hiding in a small, out-of-the-way plot of land like this (subtext: hoping a big fish doesn't swallow your small pond whole). But I can go anywhere. I can reach places you could never lay eyes on, uncover secrets of the world you'd never find on your own. And everything I learn will be yours as well."

>>215840

I don't agree to directly promising to teach him our magics. That's something he should have to prove himself for.

>I don't. Frankly, I don't see why he's all -that- dangerous any longer.

any exalt can raise hell from nothing. if he finds another titan fragment he can make another primordial, as a abyssal corruptor he actualy CAN raise hell against us, even if as constructs of bone and dust against us.

for instance, he has what seems to be a heartstone, wich is from the manse we saw. with that he could empower a bonestrider, wich is about twice the size of saulanna, along with actual armor and a lot of spare strength.

>Frankly, intelligent as he seems to be, he may have realized he is at the stage where further lies fail and the truth will hurt less.

he is still a idiotic bastard that would corrupt anything to fit his needs. i.e. he cares to his minions but isnt afraid of setting them against a soul eating monstruosity, he wants his research to be done but would fuck up souls to do that.

i am against mangling his soul because this will not only give a very horrible message to everyone as it would also potentially hurt a ally that would work with us, for us and by us because we are pratically as evil as each other, but not by much.

and with this, we can keep the primordial business a secret.

>>215841
if we use the true naming thing, we can prevent him from unlawfuly using any PW we give him.

we also have to accept the fact that we need souls/titan fragment to make any PW. we can promisse all we want, but what we can actualy do is little. for now.

>>215842

We still don't know his motives for doing all of this.

If he could empower himself with the titan fragment, why didn't he? And the manse stone is something I've suggested we remove from him once or twice already. Why haven't we? And more to the point, why hasn't he used it to get out of the bind he is in already if he could?

Either he's so clever that he's letting us have the upper hand so we can speak candidly, or draw us in, or he's unable to use it in the manner you describe.

i'm gonna say oath.

>>215845
>If he could empower himself with the titan fragment, why didn't he?
i mean, he can still grab another soul and do it to someone he can more easily control. the titan creation process seems to require a blank state soul anyway.

he does not seem to be oriented to crafting, or his backfired spell has drained more motes/life of him that what it looks like.

>>215841
That's a good point. We should phrase it as "You might convince me to teach you what I know about my magic. I'm not promising anything, mind you."

Before we make our offer to him, we could ask if he has any ideas on how to prove himself trustworthy. As in, "It would take something extraordinary to make me trust you. Anything come to mind?"

After we consider his answer, or if he doesn't come up with anything decent, then we can give him those two choices. And if he won't go through with the soul-binding, let him know that it's still an option if he ever changes his mind.

(If we're not doing so already, this would be a good time to block the sensory information to our head-ghosts. The results of this are best kept secret.)

silly things to chit chat in order to get a better view of him:

we got some talk with luna. how bad primordials are? cuz she was fine with us.

what is the iluminated?

also your thugs were harassing us before anything else. we ate one out of accident and self defense, while we were so confused and shocked that we send that weird message to the remaining thugs instead of eating them.

we did not revealed uselves to you because you began harassing us. we had quite a shock once we noticed the strength of your command for us to leave our hiding place. by then, i was convinced we should not stick together for too long.

do you have a clue if saulanna was famous before you happening to her, or maybe how criminally known saulanna was?

coming to think of it, do you even know saulanna's former name?

Saulanna Rockblossom 2010/08/06(Fri)21:38 No. 216022 ID: d3b8ba
File 128115588376.png - (45.22KB , 600x600 , qna3.png )

>block information to head-ghosts

>"I took the liberty of doing so some time ago. Hopefully they will attribute the deprivation to me, rather than being suspicious of you, my lady. Although the newest visitor seems a little too gripped with mad terror to think so critically. He has stopped squirming, however."

Hm.

Saulanna takes a moment to remove Peregrin's brooch. He keeps his attention fastened on her, however.

>"What is the "illuminated"?"
"The Cult of the Illuminated. They have a religious reverence for the Chosen of the Sun, and so, an enmity for their enemies. They wouldn't be too friendly to you, either; they think Moon Heroes should be faithful little hounds for their sunlit masters, aside the whole... Titan angle."

>"What can you tell me about my life?"
"Not a lot. I don't get many visitors from the land of the living, you see; just ghosts who don't want to live in the Deep Dark. You were the typical scavenger-archeologist, I think, solving the riddles of ancient ruins for personal profit, with a healthy mix of the higher-class burglar for when the lost cities of the Golden Age have inexplicably made themselves scarce."

>"What would you do, in my place?"
"Ah... well. I'd probably kill me and eat what I wanted out of me, but if you did plan to do that I think I would rather offer my soul in one piece, as to become your akuma. Though I am... not too keen on that, either. I don't know if you're capable of it, though I have clearly underestimated your capabilities. Do the souls make you stronger that quickly, or - ah. Off topic, there, sorry."

"I don't know how to make you trust me. Perhaps you could simply credit me with enough intellect to not think I consider myself capable of controlling a growing Titan? Particularly one I wanted to teach me? I'd do better to simply make myself useful to you. A place of refuge, certain resources at your disposal, easier access to souls, and... expertise? I don't know how being human and titanic is going to affect you over time, and you might be glad of someone who's studied the concept. Only the Heroes of Hell would know more than me on that, and you wouldn't want to talk to them."

Saulanna decides to reveal the option of the Name Oath. Peregrin's eyes still show concern, but for a moment there is a flicker of interest.

>"Knowing his own True Name does benefit him to a considerable degree, so it isn't completely one-sided."

He pauses a moment, then speaks.

"That's certainly the most attractive option thus far. If I may go a little further, however? If you yourself would promise to teach me the new Titanic Magics you uncover, I would pledge my full, active and passive support to you. Within the reasonable bounds of still being able to sleep and eat and so forth, of course. Perhaps it would be simpler to say that I would kneel to you, as a vassal, with the typical responsibilities and understandings of such a position enforced by oath. I really do have a lot I can offer."

>>216022
Eh, lets go for it. All things considered, in Peregrin becoming our vassal, we would by extension have a measure of control over these shadowlands.

>>216022
That agreement is vague enough to be very hard to squirm out of. I think perhaps we should do it. He would be a powerful ally.

The True Name option gets my vote. The details are up to people less tired to think about, or possibly me in about nine hours.

>If you yourself would promise to teach me the new Titanic Magics you uncover
I don't know what this means. Like, giving him a lot of Words of Power and stuff, or just letting him study it? If it's the latter, that's not so bad.
>>216027
>That agreement is vague enough to be very hard to squirm out of.
Doesn't being vague make it easier to squirm out of? He can quibble over what 'typical responsibilities' means all day.
He's a trickster! He's going to make himself seem empathetic and trustworthy, and make the best offer for him seem incredibly appealing to us, even if it isn't actually very good when it comes time to enforce it. We just can't trust him.

I vote we make him an Akuma. He fucked with our mind, so we get to fuck with his. He deserves no more, and it's a lot better than dying. It's also the only way we can trust him further than we can spit.

>>216040
He's got it coming. :v

>>216040
The 'full support, active and passive' part would be very hard to squirm out of, I think.

>>216043
It's also a nightmarish and monstrous condition. You get a not-inconsiderable amount of power and access to your patron.

Your mind also dies, as I recall. Really no more than a flesh puppet. I'm all for ensuring he can't betray us, but making him an Akuma is a few steps beyond horrible.

>>216040
It's actually a bit worse. Worse then dying, less so than having your soul destroyed, I think was the ratio.

>>216022
Use our spectacularly impressive SAVVY, moon boosted to be even better, to come up with a specific wording which leaves Peregrin with very little wiggle room. God knows we're not getting very far with it in the discussion thread. Make sure it's set up so that he has to adhere in spirit to the concept as well as words.

Then get his name and have him swear to servitude. We can always eat him later.

Promise that we will make sure he learns something of Titanic magic, and that as our knowledge of it expands so will his. It might not expand as far as ours, of course. But we can't always get just what we want.

>>216044
Maybe our method's a bit different, or maybe I'm misunderstanding, but the description in the questdis thread didn't seem nearly so bad.
>>216045
Dying means you lose your memories and personality anyway.

We might be able to get him to go through with the soul-binding, if we explain the extra details Wordblood explained to us: his will won't entirely disperse, like it would with a whole Titan; his own personality and desires will still exist and have some influence. Also, that he'll be able to gain titan magic much more easily, even things he wouldn't be able to gain otherwise (this is how it works, isn't it?). But it's still his choice to go through with it or not.

If he still opts to swear an oath to us, we'll want one more specific than "become my vassal". Preferably, something like this:

Do not take any action to harm or imprison us, or those we place under our protection, against our will.
Do not attempt to deceive or hide information we would value from us, through lies, omission, misleading phrasing, or any other means.
Do not reveal any secret we wish to keep.
Aid us in our goals if we request your aid.
If you think of a way of going against our wishes while keeping to the letter of our agreements, don't.

I think that covers everything. And it's significantly less demanding than the version he proposed.

>Service/Vassaldom

Interesting. If being our vassal means we can simply command him to be truthful, not harm/restrict us, support us, etc., and he'll be obligated to obey these commands with all the strength of the True Name Oath, then we should go for it. It'd allow us to make corrections, clarifications as we like, without having to make him swear Oath after Oath.

Two things grate about this deal, though:

1. Him taking his payment for vassaldom in return for being taught all our titanic MAJICK KNOWLEDGE. Wouldn't titanic magic theoretically be able to override a True Name oath, even? Some things we might end up being hesitant in sharing. It's a bit unreasonable to acquiesce to sharing ALL our titanic knowledge.

2. Whether or not we'll end up having any other obligations to him in turn. Granted, since we're not swearing on OUR true name, we could just break with those obligations, but that means his own oath is broken and he'd be free to do as he likes. Word the oath in such a way that we can't inadvertently break it.

As such, we should dig a little deeper on the details of this state of vassaldom, his motivations for wanting to learn Titanic MAJICKS and what he wants to use them for.

Also, what does he mean by "certain resources"? Anything we might desire that he can get his hands on, or something more specific?

I -know- what he means by 'souls' and I'm not sure I like it, but we CAN ask him to lay off on that and accept we have moral complications with it. Sure, here we have someone who can attract and provide us with a regular supply of ghosts to convert into TW, but... no. Let's not swing that way.

>>216073
>Him taking his payment for vassaldom in return for being taught all our titanic MAJICK KNOWLEDGE
Considering that we're otherwise going to kill him or eat his soul, I daresay he's not going to refuse our promise to teach him only "some" of our titan-style magics. We don't have to promise to share everything with him, and indeed it would be a poor idea to do so.

We need him bound in such a way that if we simply command it he gives us his soul, as per the other option. It would be far more difficult to turn on us in a way where we couldn't do that. We don't want to, and he doesn't want us to, but it is just that much more insurance for us. Better a servant than a unwilled slave.

Also, let's be sure to learn our own True Name before giving him his. I just want us to be as strong as possible right away, no matter what else happens. As long as our head ghosts can't hear, and it doesn't distract us much. If it will be a bother we can do it right after.

How's this sound for a complete cutoff suggestion?

Make him swear the following:
To not interfere with your actions
To not harm you directly or indirectly
To not follow, scry on, or otherwise track you
Stop research into titanic magic
To apply these restrictions on his followers as well as himself, past, present, and future
Advise allies and hired persons to leave you alone
Obey the spirit of these vows as well as the literal

I don't want anything to do with this slippery snake more than neccisary.
Revisions? Refinements? Rebuttals?

>>216071
Expanding on my previous suggestion:
>We might be able to get him to go through with the soul-binding, if we explain the extra details Wordblood explained to us
If he expresses disbelief at this, point out that if we had reason to deceive him, we'd have no reason to offer him a choice.

If he wonders why we'd be willing to go through with it, this is the answer:
"It's obvious that I take issue with many of the things you've done, but that has more to do with who you aren't than with who you are. You seem to be focused mainly on gathering knowledge, which is something I can agree with." (which implies that, if he goes through with the soul-binding deal, his goals will still be achieved)

But if he doesn't seem interested, don't press the issue.

>>216349
We're trying to make an agreement with him, not completely cut our ties with him.

We really just need a clause about answering our questions honestly, without any attempt to mislead us. Then we can ask him if he can think of anything we missed.

lets have sum mindfuck!

ask him what power word he would like that ISNT "stop".

also we ARE interested in his soul INTACT for the same reasons the primordials wanted their heroes with their wills intact. you can never have enought failsafes.

also we are giving him only 1 PW. maybe we can consider rewarding him with more if things get even more awesome.

>>216393
WHY do you want to KEEP ties with someone that has poisoned us, bludgeoned us, stabbed us, and erased our very being? That's not counting the stuff he's done that we can't remember. You WANT to come BACK to this person?

...suddenly, battered housewife syndrome makes a lot more sense.

>>216477
Because we can make use of him and possibly change him for the better. Better that than killing him or leaving him to his own devices.

And to enjoy the feeling of being in control.

Saulanna Rockblossom 2010/08/09(Mon)22:36 No. 216898 ID: 27828f
File 128141855991.png - (44.75KB , 600x600 , saulannaponder1.png )

The last traces of conflict uncurl through Saulanna's mind. What if he can outsmart her still? Find holes in any oath? Doesn't he deserve worse? Couldn't she have more? She is understandably hesitant over this enormous decision. But...

Saulanna Rockblossom 2010/08/09(Mon)22:36 No. 216899 ID: 27828f
File 128141861997.png - (45.96KB , 600x600 , saulannaponder2.png )

... No, her mind is made up. She does not want to have his soul; not yet, at least. She cannot let him go free, and she does not wish to kill him. But she can still bind him as her ally. She will make him take the oath.

>"Touch him, my lady. I need physical contact."

Saulanna Rockblossom 2010/08/09(Mon)22:38 No. 216901 ID: 27828f
File 128141868032.png - (48.30KB , 600x600 , findthename.png )

Saulanna places a hand on Peregrin's head. She feels Wordblood's magic flow through her, reaching into her body and through to the man that kneels before her. She feels the power coil around her; like a hand atop her grip, like a steady arm around her body. Blood and moonlight. Red and blue. Together. Words come to her lips unbidden.

>"Do you want to know your name?"

Peregrin nods.

>"You are Shadow In The Wings."

Saulanna Rockblossom 2010/08/09(Mon)22:39 No. 216903 ID: 27828f
File 128141877766.png - (37.66KB , 600x600 , giveyourword.png )

>"I will teach you a fair portion of my titanic power. For this, you will serve me.
>You will serve faithfully, wisely, and well, as best as you can do.
>You will not deceive me, nor allow me to be deceived;
>You will not go against my will, nor what my will would be.
>Any command I give, you will obey; save that I would gain by it.
>My goals will be yours; my allies, yours; my secrets, yours.
>This is the bargain I offer you."

>"If you wish it so, than swear it, on your name."

Saulanna Rockblossom 2010/08/09(Mon)22:40 No. 216904 ID: 27828f
File 128141883433.png - (20.20KB , 700x700 , chap1end.png )

"I so swear."

Saulanna Rockblossom 2010/08/09(Mon)22:53 No. 216908 ID: 27828f
File 128141961828.png - (43.60KB , 700x700 , SaulannaEnd.png )

The touch of Luna settles.
Saulanna gains a point of Agility!
She gains a new Moon Ability: Scent of Victory

- Saulanna made an ally.
- She accepted a Quest.
- Wordblood was awakened!
- Saulanna gained Wordblood's respect.
- She tasted the power of the Titans.
- She uncovered her history.
- She gained a sworn servant!

Souls Eaten: 2/11

See you next time!

MAYBE YOU CAN BREAK UP THE THREAD INTO SMALLER CHUNKS NEXT TIME.

:B

What's that Typo? I can't hear you all the way across this huge thread!

Hey, if you can make a chapter last 1600 posts without people hating it then more power to ya.

That is such an epic ending to this chapter. Bravo.

Looking forward to the next installment.

^What the wise one said.

Well, I had my druthers, but I respect Saulanna's decision and consider him a part of Team Rockblossom.

Did Mommy Luna catch that oath? She may have exalted us because she already knew about Wordblood and wanted that on her side.

>Souls Eaten: 2/11
So is that... good? I think we should have snacked on a few more of those mooks. Ah well, I'm sure there's enough dark souls out there that deserve to be snacked on.

And to add a little to our score report:

COMPETENCIES LIST

Advanced Evasion
Advanced Intimidation
Advanced Knifework
Advanced Streetsmarts

Average Athleticism
Average Clubbing
Average Concealment
Average Deathlore
Average Infiltration
Average Natural Attack
Average Repair
Average Smoothtalking
Average Swordplay
Average Theft

Standard Environmancy

Basic Bow & Arrow
Basic Command
Basic Economics
Basic History
Basic Horseriding
Basic Logistics
Basic Metaphysics
Basic Outdoorsyness
Basic Sleuthing
Basic Shooting
Basic Tactics
Basic Woodwork
Basic Worldliness

Needs more posts.

But seriously, wonderful quest. Of all the quests I've run around in I can comfortably say Wordblood is my favorite character of all questingdom.

>>216926
And I don't think we ever did get an answer on whether clubbing was hitting people with clubs or hitting up clubs.

This quest? F'ing grand, a joy to explore and participate. Congratulations on this chapter, Jukashi.

>>216909

To be fair, most of the thread is us discussing, suggesting, arguing and theory-crafting. Counting the pictures, there're 'only' some 180-ish of them, and somewhat less in actual updates.

>To be fair, most of the thread is us discussing, suggesting, arguing and theory-crafting. Counting the pictures, there's 'only' some 180-ish of them, and somewhat less in actual updates.

Sir, I oppose this view point!

Just as planned.

5Copper!OcWN4aulz6 2010/08/10(Tue)06:01 No. 216987 ID: d14bbc
File 12814452967.jpg - (28.34KB , 587x248 , imokwthis.jpg )

i seem to be missing my slowclap.gif

meanwhile, have mfw the quest finnaly ended.

>>216987
The quest didn't end. It's just the first chapter.

potato, tomato...

>>88565
>>216908
Did our ponytail grow five times larger in one day? I think we need to trim that thing down before it eats our head.

Hush you, it looks great.

I think it's just her maturing. Its about as long as it is in Warform normally, which may include it's a side effect of using it so much so rapidly.

Or its an update to the style, which has gotten better as the quest has gone on.

Suggestion 2010/08/11(Wed)04:57 No. 217306 ID: 67c611
File 128152783523.jpg - (50.78KB , 500x300 , Raziel.jpg )

We could have doubled the stat gains if we ate more souls. Shame on you all for not doing so.

We need to be more like this guy. Consider him our role model.

>>217296
It's part of becoming a Lunar. As we synchronize with our more animalistic warform, we become hairier. This is true on all parts of the body, but when we're clothed, it's only really visible on the head